Sera of all male donors appearing at the blood bank of a regional hospital in Northwest Ethiopia in 1994 (n = 1022) and 1995 (n = 1164), were screened for the presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) and treponemal antibodies. Additionally, screening for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was carried out on 549 consecutive sera. In 1995, the crude seroprevalence of HIV-1 infection and syphilis was 16.7% and 12.8%. Seroprevalence of HBsAg was 14.4%. HIV and syphilis seroprevalence was highest in soldiers (30.6% and 20.9%) and daily workers (18.8% and 13.5%), and lowest in farmers (8% and 6.7%). However, farmers had the highest rate of HBsAg (18.8%). HIV-positive donors had an increased risk for being positive for syphilis antibodies (OR = 3.69, 95% CI = 2.69-4.96), but not for HBsAg (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.36-1.67). The data indicate that (i) the HIV epidemic has not yet reached a plateau phase in Ethiopia, and (ii) the transmission and epidemiology of HBsAg in Ethiopia is different from that of HIV and syphilis.
PIP: The sera of all 2186 male blood donors presenting to the blood bank of the Gondar College of Medical Sciences, a regional hospital in Northwest Ethiopia, during 1994-95 were screened for HIV-1 and treponemal antibodies; in addition, a subset of 549 donors from 1995 was tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). In 1994, 12% of blood donors were HIV-positive and 13.1% had treponemal antibodies. Seroprevalence rates in 1995 were 16.7% for HIV, 12.8% for syphilis, and 14.4% for HBsAg. HIV and syphilis seroprevalence rates were highest among soldiers (30.6% and 20.9%, respectively) and daily workers (18.8% and 13.5%, respectively) and lowest among farmers (8.0% and 6.7%, respectively). In contrast, the highest rate of HBsAg was found among farmers (18.8%). HIV-infected donors were significantly more likely than HIV-negative donors to be positive for syphilis as well (odds ratio, 3.69; 95% confidence interval, 2.69-4.96), but there was no such pattern for HBsAg (odds ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-1.67). The increasing rate of HIV infection observed in the different occupational groups indicates that the HIV epidemic has not yet reached a plateau in Ethiopia. Moreover, the finding that HBsAg is not associated with HIV infection suggests that, in Ethiopia, hepatitis B has a different set of risk factors than have sexually transmitted diseases.